Authorities still unable to address to human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO(News 1st) - The human-elephant conflict remains an issue that Sri Lankan authorities have been unable to address even today. The number of lives lost in the conflict remains a stark reminder of the gravity of the issue. The latest in this series of incidents were reported from Mahavilachchiya in the past 48 hours. The Helamba Weva area comes under the purview of the Mahavilachchiya Divisional Secretariat. The biggest issue faced by these villagers living on the edges of the Wilpattu reserve is the risk of wild elephant attacks that occur both day and night. A 51-year-old lost his life yesterday after being attacked by a wild elephant. He was killed while he was on his way to earn living to feed his 4 children. Although an electric fence around the village, elephants continue to destroy the fences and invade the village. The villagers continue to ask the question, when will this finally be over? Meanwhile, the remains of Madushan Wickramasinghe, a wildlife officer who died while on duty in Rathgammana Matale, was brought to his residence in the Kubulweva area in Raththota. The battle between villagers of Galgamuwa and the Tusker named Chandi continues to disrupt the villagers' day to day lives. This is the most recent incident in the string of encroachments by the wild elephant. Even though Chandi had been taken to the Horowpothana Elephant Holding ground, he keeps returning to his home in the Galgamuwa area. While we continue to lose innocent human lives because of the elephant human conflict, the elephants suffer as well. A 30-year-old elephant was found dead after being entangled in an unprotected electric wire in Medirigiriya in Polonnaruwa. The lives of the residents of Settikulam in Vavuniya have also been affected by the human-elephant conflict. As a result, these villagers have had to sacrifice a good night's sleep to fend off and escape numerous wild elephant attacks. The Sinnasaalaman and Periyasaalaman villages in Ottuchudan, Mullaitivu have already found themselves added to the list of villages 'at-risk' of wild elephant attacks. This has been directly attributed to the gross negligence of the officials and relevant departments.